Dispensers of many sorts are used by establishments which employ disposable containers such as paper and Styrofoam cups. While dispensers for cups are found in many service settings, dispensers for lids have not come into common use. Disposable lids have generally been presented for use in open, horizontal trays. In such trays, the elongated stack of lids generally rests with its longitudinal axis disposed horizontally within the tray. This presentation makes it difficult to grasp and separate a single lid from the stack. The consumer often must use two hands to obtain a single lid. This process entails the touching and possible soiling or contamination of the remaining lids in the tray. In addition, with frequent handling of the lids, the tray often becomes cluttered with loose lids that have been dislodged from the stack. This messy presentation further impedes the efficient removal of a single lid from the tray. Furthermore, when presented in such open trays, various dirt or food particles, fluids and the like may be accidentally introduced into the tray rendering the entire contents unusable.
In attempts to overcome the problems of open, horizontal trays, some establishments have adopted partially open vertical cylinders or other upright containers. While the potential for accidental spoilage of the entire stack is somewhat reduced by the use of a partially-open, vertical container, the potential for contamination is not substantially reduced. Even when the stack is in such a container with its longitudinal axis disposed vertically within the container so that the top or bottom lid is in a readily hand engageable position, there is no means of preventing the incidental handling and contamination of other lids in the stack.
The lid dispensing device proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,334 to Steele (1987) facilitates the removal of lids from a partially open vertical container, but does not substantially overcome the problem of contamination mentioned with respect to such containers. In addition, it is limited in application to the dispensing of lids constructed in such a manner that they do not form a substantially interlocked stack. A stack of substantially interlocked lids prevent horizontal movement of individual lids which can only be efficiently removed with a upward or downward motion of the top or bottom lid. This motion is generally difficult to achieve with a partially open vertical container and cannot be efficiently achieved with the device of the aforementioned patent. Because the Steele device can only be used to remove lids through a horizontal motion, it cannot be used for dispensing lids for many types of Styrofoam cups. These cup lids nest in a substantially interlocking stack and are thus unsuitable for use with the Steele device.
The aforementioned problems with the storage and presentation for use of disposable lids in either horizontal or vertical trays often lead establishments to keep the lids behind a service counter. When this practice is adopted, the lids must be dispensed to ultimate consumers by service personnel. This consumes employee time, increases the duration of the service transaction and still poses some contamination and spoilage problems.
Several devices have been proposed to accomplish the serial dispensing of lids from a largely closed container with a dispensing opening. See for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,131,562 to Brown (1992), 5,012,952 to Franz (1991) and 5,038,969 to Berger (1991). However, all of these patents are limited for use with lids of very specific construction. The Brown and Franz devices each rely on the outward flare or flange of a lid to accomplish the dispensing function. Such a flare is frequently not employed in lids designed for use with paper cups. When such non-flared lids with substantially straight walls are nested, they present a stack with a primarily smooth, straight and uninterrupted surface. These characteristics are apt to make the Brown and Franz devices ineffective in dispensing such lids.
The device proposed for lid dispensing by U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,969 issued to Berger is limited to the dispensing of lids with a circular top wall and a downwardly extending annular flange integral with the top wall. In addition, this device is sufficiently complex both in the number of parts and the specifications of their inter-workings so as to make its manufacture expensive relative to the present invention.